Faculty Research Support Program - Regular Grant

The Faculty Research Support Program (FRSP) – Regular Grant (RG) provides funds to support outstanding research, scholarship, or creative endeavor that will make a major contribution in any field of study.

Projects should lead to a significant outcome during the period of the award and, thus, the FRSP-RG should not be viewed as a seed funding opportunity for the generation of preliminary results. Grants ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 of total funding, as appropriate to the research proposal, over three years are available through this program. Augmentation of the grants by the Colleges and Departments, as appropriate to the discipline, are allowed.

PRIORITIES

The following are key priorities for the FRSP-RG:

Excellence: the program of research, scholarship, or creative endeavor must be of the highest quality. It is expected that the outcomes of this project will bring recognition to the researcher(s) and the University. It is assumed that outcomes of the project will be significantly recognized as leading the discipline or field of study and contribute to the overall prominence of the University.

Mission Fit: projects should support the University’s Catholic mission. This can be achieved in many ways, from scholarship that promotes a better understanding of our common humanity to applied research that strengthens our shared communities and promotes human flourishing.

Qualifications of Project Personnel: the committee will consider the ability of the researcher(s) to carry out the proposed project based on record and/or future promise.

Budget: all funding requests will be evaluated on their level of appropriateness in relation to the research proposal.

Some example projects include:

An intercontinental comparative study of the influences of current global changes.

A multi-year conference series that allows important exploration of an issue from many ethnic, cultural, or religious perspectives.

A research program that supports visits to archives and sites that would otherwise not be possible and would open new comparative study opportunities for international collaboration.

Collaborative research with distinguished scholars at other universities or with creative performers in professional activity.

Acquisition of materials or equipment to enable outstanding research. A research plan for utilizing such materials or equipment should be included in the proposal.

Note: These examples are for illustrative purposes only. Many other similar types of projects are encouraged.

ELIGIBILITY

The following categories are eligible to apply for this program:

Full-time regular members of the University of Notre Dame faculty, including tenured and tenure-track faculty, research faculty, library faculty, and special professional faculty, are eligible to apply.

Faculty members receiving FRSP-RG funding during the past five years are ineligible.

BUDGET REQUESTS

The following are allowable budget requests:

Partial summer salary for faculty (up to one ninth of academic year salary maximum for faculty on nine-month appointments and, if necessary, up to one twelfth of annual salary for faculty on twelve-month appointments).

Graduate research assistant and post-doctoral fellow stipends and benefits.

Undergraduate student support.

Equipment and supplies necessary for the research.

Payment to human subjects.

Library acquisitions.

Research travel for conduct of the proposed effort.

The following are unallowable budget requests:

Book publication costs.

Faculty academic year course reduction or academic year salary.

Travel for the purpose of presenting research results or attendance at conferences.

Notes:

With the exception of national fellowships, projects for which competitive funding is typically available from external sources are not suitable.

Proposals requesting support for ongoing research projects funded by another sponsor and/or projects in the final stages of completion are not appropriate.

DEADLINE

The application period is now closed. The proposal process usually opens in the fall. Please check back again next year for more details.

GRANT PERIOD

The grant period is for up to three years. A one year, no-cost extension may be approved with satisfactory progress or growth of the project. Funds will be available on the first of the calendar year following application.

PROPOSAL FORMAT AND SUBMISSION

Interested applicants should write the proposal in clear, non-technical language for a general audience. The review panel is likely to contain a broad representation from across the University.

Each proposal must include the following items in the order listed:

Cover page with following information: Name of Principal Investigator, Department, Center, Institute affiliation, Phone, Email, Proposal Title, and designation as a FRSP-RG. Please also list any co-principal investigators and their Departmental, Center, or Institute affiliations.

Abstract of the proposed project (one page maximum).

Description of the proposed project (five pages maximum).

The objective of the project.

Background, previous work, and/or motivation as appropriate.

The project approach and methods.

The anticipated outcomes.

The anticipated time schedule.

Discussion of how the project will address the program priorities (excellence, mission fit, and personnel qualifications; one page maximum).

Fully itemize and justify equipment purchase necessary to the project.

Fully justify any proposed travel.

Current and Pending Grant Support:

List all current and pending proposals.

If applicable, indicate startup or capitalization funds available to the principal investigator and other faculty participants.

Current curriculum vitae (two pages maximum) for each faculty member listed on the cover sheet as an investigator. CVs for external collaborators may be included if integral to the proposal. If postdocs, graduate students, and/or undergraduates are included in the project as collaborators, please describe their qualifications.

The submission should be a single PDF document with naming convention of “<PI NAME>_RG Proposal_<YEAR>.pdf” to intprogs@nd.edu. Proposals that do not comply with format and content guidelines may be rejected without review.

Projects will be confidentially reviewed by a panel of senior scholars chosen from faculty of all Colleges and Schools. The panel will make a recommendation to the Vice President for Research, who will make the final decision.

ACCEPTANCE CONDITIONS

In accepting an FRSP-RG award, the awardee agrees to:

Conform to established practices and procedures concerning sponsored program activity.

Submit a final report to Notre Dame Research no later than three months after the end date of the award. The report should include a summary of the activities funded by the award and significant results achieved, including evidence that the project contributed to the international and/or national reputation of Notre Dame as a preeminent research institution, and a listing of any publications or manuscripts resulting from the award.

Act in accordance with the policy that all permanent equipment purchased under a FRSP-RG is the property of the University unless otherwise specified when the grant is approved.

Awards will be contingent upon approval of any protocols for research involving the use of live vertebrate animals, recombinant DNA molecules, and/or human subjects. Please obtain guidelines and policies affecting these types of projects from Notre Dame Research Compliance.

FINAL REPORT

All internal grant awardees are required to complete a short final report. To download the report template as a Word document, please click here.